Little consensus on VHR issues in El Dorado County
El Dorado County residents on Feb. 12 vent about VHRs to staff and electeds. Photo/LTN
By Kathryn Reed
MEYERS – The conversation has not changed. Proponents: Vacation home rentals are a fact of life in a tourist town. Opponents: VHRs ruin neighborhoods.
This week Sue Novasel and Mike Ranalli, the two El Dorado County supervisors who make up the ad hoc VHR committee, got an earful from people about the issue. While some spoke to specifics about the Apple Hill area, most were Tahoe residents with local opinions. About 70 people filled the CCC room in Meyers on Feb. 12.
The electeds were joined by reps from the county’s legal department and Chief Administrative Office. They along with fire and law enforcement are the internal team at the county working on the issue.
The complaints in the county are much the same as they are in South Lake Tahoe, with noise, trash and parking the primary problems. Then there are those who think this is a commercial business, when it’s not. And others believe the only place for a tourist is in a hotel.
Jobs and revenue for the county are some of the positives about the short-term rentals.
Monday’s meeting was mostly an opportunity for county reps to listen to concerns. But it was stated by more than one attendee that it is time for action, which includes compromise.
On March 3 from 1-3pm at South Tahoe Middle School’s multipurpose room the entire Board of Supervisors will reconvene. This is a continuation of the Feb. 1 meeting that was canceled because of overcrowding.
The county’s working group has conceptually agreed to the following in regards to VHRs:
· Inspections for safety and compliance before a permit is issued.
· Doing an analysis to determine which county department should handle the issue.
· No warning for first violation.
· Increase penalties, with possible permit revocation after three incidents in an 18-month period.
· A maximum occupancy between 10pm and 8am.
· Exterior signage.
Those are just a fraction of the regulations on the table to be further vetted, then adopted, implemented and enforced.
Ranalli said the county is the process of rejiggering how it does enforcement on all issues, not just VHRs.
Novasel agreed more needs to be done about the whole issue, and that people need to feel safe.
The short-term rental industry has existed for awhile.
However, that industry has exploded with the advent of online services. People that buy houses with the intent to rent like a hotel for the purpose of profiteering is not a normal housing market; i.e., a commercial enterprise. If it walks like a duck…
I have similar thoughts about the ‘flipping’ industry where a person buys a house and puts it right back on the market at a higher price with no production going into it. Simply put, GDP is defined as “an aggregate measure of production equal to the sum of the gross values added…” Where is the production by inflating prices? It is a house of cards.
All these effects have priced out the local residents and affects the ‘quiet enjoyment’ of those that have bought here to live. That is where the rub occurs and where zoning is needed to separate incompatible uses. The median income cannot afford the median house. Do we want a community full of absentee owners? Who will be left to vote, protect or run the community?
Industries that run amok have been reigned in by government before, such as the times of robber-barons, monopolies and collusion. It is the ‘police power’ of government that exercises the protections for the populace and to level the playing field.